Tech News January 25, 2010

The Contemplation keeps you updated with the latest web sites, tech and science news from around the world, videos, free and paid tech magazines, freeware and website pick. The Contemplation wants to be your source for casual information, comments are encouraged but not expected.

Twitter Fun Follow

Name Rainn WilsonLocation Los Angeles-ishWebYesBio I am an actor and a writer and I co-created SoulPancake and my son, Walter.

Tweet Sample: “Time for my University of Phoenix ten year reunion! Only problem? Never met a single class-mate. Should be awesome.”

Gaming Freeware

Ur-Quan Masters (download . . .)
Released in 1992, Star Control II took the arcade-style action of its predecessor and deepened the gameplay with a rich storyline and role-playing features. While many a lesser game would’ve lost its focus, Star Control II‘s disparate parts gelled together perfectly into a sophisticated, unique sci-fi title that combined the best elements of action and strategy. The free version of needed to lose the “Star Control” name due to copyright issues, but it’s otherwise the same breakthrough classic.

Facts of the Day

In the 18th century, fashion-conscious women plucked their eyebrows and glued on strips of mouse-skin instead.

Quotes of the Day

“I encourage new growth by using castor oil and yellow vaseline–half and half–and rubbing it the wrong way, toward the nose, with a brush…it makes the brows grow like mad…Brows frame the eyes. Encourage them, for they’re a great beauty asset.” Joan Crawford

“She did have wonderful cheekbones. And a good mouth–she copied my generous lipline and then my natural eyebrows, but with her, she went overboard on everything. Those eyebrows wound up looking like African caterpillars!” Bette Davis commenting on Joan Crawford

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Tech Video

Tech & Science News

Slim Pickings, You are Lucky to Exist
Scientific American has a story on researchers from the University of Utah who have calculated that 1.2 million years ago, at a time when our ancestors Homo erectus, H. ergaster, and archaic H. sapiens were spreading through Africa, Europe, and Asia, there were probably only about 18,500 individuals capable of breeding in all these species together. (read more . . .)

Trying to Reinvent Itself, again
AOL announced Monday that it spent $36.5 million to acquire StudioNow, a start-up that builds technology for online video creation and distribution. (read more . . .)

Name Change Please
Microsoft “Pink” is targeting teens and twenty-somethings. With that name only 12 year old girls. (read more . . .)

Drink Up!
The Wine release 1.1.37 is now available. Who needs windows if you can run windows apps on Linux for free? (read more . . .)

London & Linux
London Stock Exchange dumps expensive commercial software for Linux! Dumps Microsoft because the costs kept running over its operation cost of £20 million, just for patches. (read more . . .)

Laptop = Good Grades
So, get your kid a laptop? Apparently kids that have laptops actually acquire information – compared to a shared desktop. I guess if you have to share a desktop with the family when you finally get to the keyboard you just want to play. (read more . . .)

Technology Fail
A guy who parks his car on a road equipped with a speed camera and has received two speeding tickets while his car was parked. (read more . . .)

Doomed or Not Doomed
Spring forward to death or fall back to just a skin wound? Imaginary clock surfaces and scares all nursing home residents and baby boomers while everyone else thinks it is a promotion for a re-screening of “Watchman“. (read more . . .)

Good Old Days, But Better
A web developer has re-created the entire Windows 3.1 experience within a browser window, including games, notepad, and a web browser. Truth be told, the included web browser is a major anachronism, since it’s apparently standards-compliant in 2010. (read more . . .)

Question: Will Amazon Be the New Wal-Mart?Answer:It has been for a very long time. (read more . . .)

Where Are The Parents?
7th Graders have no business on social networking, none at all. Syracuse, we have a problem. (read more . . .)

A High School Student Chats via IM
A 16 year old might lose her eye for chatting on MSN. Yet, she didn’t bad mouth a teacher. There has got to be a middle ground between full freedom and control? Solution: Internet II made available for general population without chatting, forums or communication. (read more . . .)

What We Can Learn From A Sea Slug
Sea slug eats algae, transfers the algae’s genes into it’s own cells and feeds off of light for 9 – 10 months. I’d eat algae to run our car for 1 month, run house electricity for another 2 months and heat the house during winter months. To only eat algae once every 9 month to never pay another utility bill would be worth the after taste. Working on business plan for algae bar, calling it “Taste’s Like Chicken”. (read more . . .)

Geek Video

Comment Clash

Paid Subscription Tech Magazines

Funny Commercial

Website Pick

Products on the SecondSpin.com site come from three sources: the internet, the retail stores and from brokers around the country. This gives SecondSpin.com a much wider variety of music & movies than other used sites. Strict quality control keeps the defect rate to less than 1%, so everything is 100% guaranteed.

Web 2.o Application

Snapter is also an efficient way to save all your business cards and receipts, as well as whiteboards in classrooms or meetings. You can easily scan an entire book with the help of Snapter. It’s advanced algorithm magically eliminates the page curvature and split spread pages into left and right ones. All the grunt work with one click. Rotates,crops,stretches,solves per-spective problem, sharpens the image and improves color.

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